Car Seat

Okay, Internets. I'm at work, working hard at a MASSIVE catch up game, after spontaneously leaving the office last Wednesday (or Tuesday?), going home, crashing, and ALMOST DYING OF HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE ILLNESS.

Not really almost dying, but I wanted to die. Among the downsides of being self employed is that it's actually really hard to just call in sick. Thankfully, my clients were all incredibly understanding, and let me have time off to be sick.

My brother, El Senor, was not so understanding, and went forward with his wedding yesterday, despite my illness (thankfully by then, it had cleared up enough that I was in fact able to leave the house).

Congrats to El Senor and La Senora!! I'll come out with a post all about them soon, I promise!

But this post is about ME.

ME ME ME.

Okay, but here's a picture of Gulliver from the wedding.

Okay, NOW onto me.

And when I say "me" I mean, the baby on her way, because she is stressing me out a little. Today I had my 30-week checkup, which means that I'm now on the 2-week schedule. And then, just after a few appointments on the 2-week schedule, I'll be on the 1-week schedule. And then, just after a few appointments on the 1-week schedule, I will have a whole new human being for whom I am responsible!!

And that's if she comes ON TIME!! What if she comes EARLY???? I don't even want to think about it.

So anywho, we really haven't done much to prepare for her arrival. But I had better make a list soon.

One thing on my list is to buy a car seat for her. And this is where you come in. I would like you to simplify my process by telling me which car seat I am supposed to buy. Please chime in now.

To consider: I would like the carrier type so that she can stay asleep when she falls asleep in it. We also own a Honda Civic, and it will be one of two car seats in the back, and will more than likely have to be put on the side, not in the middle seat. I'm okay with buying a smaller type, since I would likely prefer to purchase a Britax seat to match Gulliver's when she's big enough to fit into it and move her into that (Gulliver moved into his around 7 or 8 months).

17 comments:

My mom bought us a Graco Metro Light carrier system complete with carrier & stroller. It's uglier than sin. The carrier is pretty light weight, but the tightening mechanism is horribly annoying to adjust & I can't begin to tell you how much I HATE the stroller that came with it.

So, whatever you do, don't get what I got. I'm not sure what to suggest to get instead. There are my two cents.

We had a Graco Snugride for the first two kids. It was light and small and worked swell. They're cheapish and well made and might be perfect for seven to nine months. (I never used the matching stroller with kid #2. I just used a sling until she was big enough for the double umbrella stroller.)

It expired before this baby was born. This time we went for the Graco Snugride 32 which is bigger and heavier. We needed her to stay in it for at least a year to make the rounds of musical carseats go well for all three kids. It's hard to carry but this time I got smart and just bought the snap-n-go thing to make it into a stroller when necessary.

I know people who are over the moon about Chico infant carseats as well and they look smallish.

Chicco Keyfit 30. It has the highest ratings at Consumer Reports, great ratings at Amazon, and I love it. Both my parents commented on how easy it was to get the carrier in and out of the car. Also my s-in-law had the same one and she loved it too.

I didn't get the travel system, I just found a used Snap-n-Go for $20 to pop it into. It's not likely that I'll be doing too much strollering before spring, at which point he'll be big enough for the UPPAbaby stroller I got.

To answer the sisters, for Gulliver, we used a hand-me-down car seat from my oldest brother's family, since it would technically expire before they had their next baby. By the time Gulliver was done with it, it was really really expired.

The Chicco Keyfit is really nice in all aspects other than that it is a bit heavy. I don't recommend the not fabricy cover though (smooth polyester-ish), it gets really hot really easy. Get one of the soft fabric covers though and it'll be great.

We have the Graco Metro Light that your friend loathes. But I love it. We've used it for all 3 kids. It's lightweight and small (I think it's small but it's the only one I've ever had). I've never had buckling issues like her. It goes up to 22 lbs. Sadly Roman outgrew it by 4 1/2 months. Yeah, he's huge. My girls have matching Britax carseats too (cowhide print - so cute). Why do you want to be me? Roman is in Macy's now and she is in a booster. The end.

we used a graco, and i loved it because it's all i knew, but i do have a strong opinion on one feature of infant carriers: the sun shade. my niece's stopped above her head and that was it. so if the sun was even sort of low..like in the evening....it was right in her eyes, and they had to use blankets that bugged her and fell off and were annoying and an extra step. i loved that ours had the full range of motion...it could sit in her lap if the sun was low or be moved back or cover her completely or whatever. and ours fit in the middle with a wide toddler seat on the side. so no t-bones can hurt the newborn. :)

oh and i think we have the same thing melissa hated, and i never had problems with the tightening mechanism....in fact, it was one of my other favorite features. this is one reason i think you'll like whatever you get. it's not like some of them smell bad and kill babies and some are perfumed and magical, right?

We have the Graco Metro Lite seat & stroller and I've loved it. The stroller handles really well and was the lightest (12.5 lbs, if I remember right) of the snap-in strollers. We've never had a problem with it, and never thought it was ugly.

That being said, we don't often use the stroller with #2. I use a sling if I have to take both kiddos to the store by myself. A friend of mine just puts both kids in the cart and then pulls a 2nd cart for her groceries. In the spring, though, we'll use the stroller more, I'm sure.